To celebrate their son’s sixth birthday, the Pedlar family in Barnstaple decided to re-create one of our hotel rooms in their home to make up for missed family trips during lockdown.
Like many other families in the UK, the Pedlars have had to change how they celebrate birthdays due to lockdown rules. But unlike many other families, the Pedlars found a creative way to get around the problem – by re-creating a Premier Inn at home – much to the delight of birthday boy Noah and big sister Heidi, aged nine.
Before lockdown, the Pedlars often stayed at our Bristol City Centre (Lewin's Mead) hotel for Noah’s, visits to Bristol Children’s hospital where he received treatment for Spina Bifida, a spinal condition.
Due to his condition, Noah’s family were advised he was high risk and should be kept shielded at home. But like any other child, Noah wants to have fun and when it came close to his sixth birthday, he started to miss his holiday trips to the ‘moon hotel’ and asked when they would be able to stay in a Premier Inn again. Deciding to make Noah’s birthday one to remember, parents Louise and Stuart, both 31, surprised Noah and Heidi with a ‘moon sleepover’ of their own.
Louise started by decorating the room with some key details like the white bedsheets, purple lights behind the headboard and even went so far as to re-create the Premier Inn logo in the background.
Family having to shield re-create Premier Inn hotel room in their home for son’s birthday
© Louise Pedlar
Louise Pedlar said:
“Noah has undergone 42 general anaesthetics in his six years, but his condition doesn’t define him as he is such a happy child with so much life. Every birthday we get with Noah is one to cherish and I wanted to make sure we could make the most of everyday and keep creating those special memories, even if we are stuck inside shielding. It’s not been easy at times, but we decided to think outside the box and thought it would be fun for us to recreate a Premier Inn at home and plan a ‘trip’ to ‘the moon hotel’ as we’ve always enjoyed spending time there, even if he is often going to hospital the next morning.”
She added:
“We hope our idea inspires other families to recreate fun memories and to make the most of everyday”.
Noah’s story has caught the eye of our team, who spotted the story on social media. Our team members sent Premier Inn-themed goodies for Noah and of course we offered the family a complimentary stay at a hotel of their choice when lockdown ends, so we can welcome them back to their favourite ‘moon hotel’.
Simon Ewins, Premier Inn Managing Director UK, said:
“It’s safe to say Noah’s special birthday has really brought a smile to the faces of everyone at Premier Inn. We’re delighted the family chose us to celebrate this special occasion and are looking forward to checking them in ‘for real’ as soon as we’re able”.
While they did a fantastic job, the Pedlar family aren’t the only ones who’ve re-created one of our rooms at home. Over the years we’ve received many letters from creative guests who did the same thing – including a retired couple who’ve spent weekend breaks during lockdown in a ‘Premier Inn’ spare bedroom, and a Greater Manchester family who painstakingly transformed their bedroom using our purple theme and design.